The Meaning of and Proposals for Latin-American Cooperation in Psychology
Author
Garcia,Agnaldo
Acevedo-Triana,César Andrés
López-López,Wilson
Abstract
The literature indicates several advantages and difficulties associated with international scientific cooperation. Due to the need to identify possible areas for cooperation between researchers in Latin America-a way of strengthening cooperation networks-the present qualitative study investigated the meaning of cooperation among Latin American authors and proposals to pursue this endeavor. A purposive sample of 26 researchers responded to 2 open questions. The responses were subjected to thematic analysis. Regarding the meaning of partnerships with other Latin American authors, 7 themes were proposed with focus on identifying the advantages and scope of cooperation and its long-term influence on the scientific and educational fields. The proposals for facilitating Latin American cooperation in psychology were arranged into 8 thematic groups. Based on the researchers responses, the study results show the meaning of international cooperation in Latin America and proposals for its development; in addition, they reveal the complexity of regional cooperation, which involves not only scientific research, but also educational cooperation and the organization of scientific events.